SPANISH FORT, Alabama -- With requests for help up 150 percent in three years, Prodisee Pantry is looking for a bigger space from which to distribute food to needy families in Baldwin County.

The board of the Eastern Shore food bank is negotiating to buy a 16,000-square-foot commercial building on U.S. 31, Deann Servos, organization director, said. The building would provide more space for food distribution year-round, but also for the agency’s other purpose — storing and distributing supplies after hurricanes and other disasters, she said.

“Every bit of space we have now, we’re using,” Servos said. “Right now, if we had a disaster, we wouldn’t have space to store relief supplies.”

Prodisee Pantry supporters are trying to not only raise money, but also get commitments of help from contractors, volunteers and others for renovation help that might cut the cost of moving into the new site, she said.

A closed commercial building on U.S. 31 could become the new site for Prodisee Pantry with more room for food storage. (Guy Busby/Press-Register)

“We’re looking for people who want to help us however they can,” she said. “If they have a service or can help with the financing; if someone has a company that can help us build a parking lot, right now, that’s one of the biggest expenses we’ve found.”

She said the total cost of the project depends on the final price of the building, but a rough estimate would be $800,000. Servos said the group has raised about $200,000 for the new building.

Prodisee Pantry was awarded a $250,000 grant from the Community Foundation of South Alabama on July 6. That money, however, was designated to buy food for people affected by the 2010 oil spill, grant officials said.

While many residents can’t donate money to the building project, some can help when the time comes to prepare the new site, Karen Dotson, chairwoman of the Prodisee Pantry board, said.

“We know that right now, many people can’t make a big financial contribution, but if they can give of their time and talents, that would be great.”

Dotson said the new facility will allow Prodisee Pantry to help meet a growing need in Baldwin County.”

“We’re very excited about this,” she said. “This is going to have a big impact on people.”

Several years ago, the group looked at the cost of constructing a building. That project would have cost $1.5 million, Servos said.

“This is about half that,” Servos said. “It will also make use of a building that’s not being used now, that’s just sitting there.”

During distribution days each Tuesday at the current site, hundreds of people seeking help fill the center, Servos said.

“We’ve gone from 4,000 families to 10,000 in three years,” she said. “This year, in the first six months, it’s up 17 percent. It’s time for us to have a new home.”

As demand has increased, storage space has dropped. At the former site of the Spanish Fort Supermarket, pallets filled with 40 tons of canned vegetables and other items are stored awaiting distribution.

The proposed new home would offer more space for storage and distribution. The site also has enough room for food coolers, which Prodisee Pantry does not have at its current site.

Coolers would allow the center to store items such as fresh produce, Servos said.

The new site also has a loading dock where forklifts can unload pallets from trucks and take the material to the storage area. At the current site, items have to be moved by hand from trucks to the warehouse and the distribution center.

“We handled 256 tons of food last year and all of it had to be moved four times,” Servos said. “Next year, we anticipate we’ll have 350 tons.”

Servos said she has faith that the new center will be constructed.

“I really believe that when this is all built, people will see that God built this and that this ministry will continue,” she said.

Anyone wanting to help or seeking more information can call 251-626-1720 or email volunteers@prodiseepantry.org, Servos said.